1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wound site management and wound closure device and method, for use during and after a medical procedure. More specifically, the present invention relates to a staple and stapling device for closing a puncture made in the wall of an artery or vein during a medical procedure. The puncture may be the result of a catheter-based intervention, although any puncture is contemplated, accidental or intentional. The present invention has particular utility for use in and around the femoral, radial, and brachial arteries after coronary/cardiac procedures. Other utilities include soft-tissue anchoring, tendon and artery joining, meniscal repair, thoracic lung closure, heart repair, endoscopic procedures, esophageal repair, laparoscopy, skin/epidermal wound closure and general tissue closure.
2. Description of Related Art
Catheters/catheterization procedures are well known, and typically involve insertions through the femoral artery for diagnosis or to treat cardiovascular and/or peripheral vascular diseases. After a diagnostic or interventional catheterization, the puncture formed by the catheter must be closed. The puncture opening in the artery typically ranges from 5F for a diagnostic procedure to 6-10F for an interventional procedure. Traditionally, intense pressure has been applied to the puncture site for at least 30-45 minutes after removal of the catheter. Other approaches include a thrombotic or collagen plug, and/or other suturing methodology for sealing the puncture. Patients who have had a femoral puncture are then required to remain at bed rest, essentially motionless and often with a heavy sandbag placed on their upper legs, for several hours to ensure that the bleeding has stopped. This traditional method of hemostasis following femoral artery access has many inadequacies. When a blockage is removed during a procedure, the patient quickly feels better and they often have more energy than they have had in years, but they must remain motionless for several hours. The weight of the sandbag on the femoral artery often causes the lower leg to tingle or go numb. The recovery time from the medical procedure may be as little as xc2xd hour, but the recovery time from the wound can exceed 24 hours. This makes wound site management the longer critical care item. The longer the recovery time, the more expensive the procedure becomes, the greater the patient discomfort, and the greater the risk of complications.
Surgical stapling instruments have been proposed to resolve some of the aforementioned problems associated with vascular procedures. U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,335 issued to Heck discloses a wholly distal surgical stapling instrument for stapling a tubular tissue structure to a luminal structure, such as a vascular lumen. This device can be used for anastomotic stapling of a tubular vessel having two untethered ends, and is especially useful for making the primary anastomotic connection of a bypass vein to a coronary artery or to the aorta. The device essentially includes a rod that is placed within the tubular vessel and an anvil that forces staples (associated with the rod) to bend outwardly against the vessel and a target (such as a coronary artery). Thus, this device requires that the stapler device be placed within the tubular vessel (e.g., vein or artery) for operation. While this device is useful when stapling a graft vein or the like, unfortunately, this device would be inappropriate when the entirety of the tubular tissue is not accessible, such as wound closure following a percutaneous transluminal diagnostic and interventional procedures and less invasive medical procedures.
Another example is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,504 issued to Gifford, III et al., discloses an end-to-side vascular anastomosis device to perform end-to-side anastomosis between a graft vessel and the wall of a target vessel. This device involves a procedure in which the end of a graft vessel is passed through an inner sleeve of the device until the end of the vessel extends from the distal end of the device. The distal end of the graft is then affixed to the wall of the target, using a staple and stapler which forces a staple into both tissues. Similar to the previous disclosures, this device is useful for the attachment of one tubular tissue onto another, however, is inadequate in sealing a puncture in an artery, vein or other tissue left by certain medical procedures.
Moreover, the prior art has failed to provide a device that permits a doctor or clinician to gain access to a puncture site and remain centered on that site throughout the entire procedure, including closure of the puncture. Additionally, prior art devices do not permit a doctor or clinician to directly or indirectly view the wound site, for example through an endoscope, and thus success of the procedure at the site may be compromised.
Accordingly, it is an overall object of the present invention to provide a device and method for wound site management and closure during and after medical procedures.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a tissue staple comprising a plurality of prongs connected to a plurality of tabs and arranged about a centerline axis. The prongs have a shoulder portion extending substantially orthogonal from the prong toward the centerline axis. Each prong has a tapered tissue-piercing portion on the distal end thereof.
Alternatively, the staple of the present invention comprises a plurality of prongs arranged about a centerline axis, each prong having a shoulder portion extending substantially orthogonal from the prong toward said centerline axis, and a plurality of web portions connecting each prong to one another, each prong having a tapered tissue-piercing portion on the distal end thereof.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a stapler that includes an elongated sleeve having an inside diameter, an elongated rod with a flared mandrel coupled to a distal end, the rod and mandrel sized to fit within the inside diameter of the tube, an actuator mechanism to move the rod relative to the sleeve, a staple adapted to fit between said mandrel and said sleeve, and, said actuator mechanism adapted to move said mandrel relative to said staple and said sleeve causing said staple to close on tissue located about a wound site.
Broader aspects of the stapler include a distal tip comprising a sleeve and a rod inserted into said sleeve, said rod comprising a flared distal tip; an actuator coupled to said sleeve and said rod, said actuator adapted to cause said sleeve to move relative to said rod; and a tissue staple comprising a plurality of tissue piercing prongs placed around said rod between said sleeve and said flared distal tip.
Wound closure procedures according to the present invention include a process for closing a wound comprising the steps of: inserting an introducer into a tissue wound, placing a sheath around the introducer and locating the sheath approximate to said wound, inserting the distal end of a stapler into said sheath to approach the tissue wound site, said stapler including a tissue staple on the distal end of said stapler,expanding a portion of the staple about said wound, and contracting at least a portion of said staple pulling together the tissue surrounding the wound.
Other wound closing methods include a process for closing a wound in an artery with a staple, comprising the steps of: inserting an introducer with a plurality of guide wires coupled thereto into an artery, guiding a stapler and staple to the wound site, expanding said staple to surround said wound site before entering said tissue, and closing said staple on said tissue to close said wound.
In yet another aspect, the present invention provides an introducer that includes a sheath having an inside diameter and a distal end, a dilator sized to fit within the inside diameter of the sheath, and a plurality of wire guides having first ends and second ends, the first ends coupled to the distal end of the sheath, wherein the sheath being approximated to a wound site and the wire guides placed into the wound site to hold said sheath approximately centered on said wound site.
In broader embodiment, the introducer of the present invention includes a tubular sheath, and at least one flexible wire guide affixed to the sheath, said wire guide placed into a wound site to hold said sheath approximately centered on said wound site.
In method form, the present invention also includes wound site stabilization methodology including the steps of: approximating an elongated sheath to a wound site; inserting one or more wire guides into the wound site; placing said wire guides approximate to tissue surrounding said wound site; and allowing opposing sides of said tissue surrounding said wound site to approximate one another.
Other procedural embodiments include a method for stabilizing a wound site, comprising the steps of: approximating an elongated sheath to a wound site; inserting one or more wire guides into the wound site; placing said wire guides approximate to tissue surrounding said wound site; and centering said sheath about said wound site. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not intended to be limited to these preferred embodiments. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following Detailed Description proceeds, and upon reference to the Drawings, wherein like numerals depict like parts, and wherein: